In recent years as the season has wound down and bubble talk has heated up, it’s seemed that many teams have all but felt a need to remind us why they were on the fence for selection to the NCAA Tournament.
Squads stumbling and bumbling down the stretch, fanning on one opportunity after another to get a leg up on their competition has been a regular occurrence. Late February and March has had more “after yous” and “no, I insists” than even the most polite of us could want. It sometimes would make one wonder if anyone really wants to be in the tourney, but a better question it has brought up is if the NCAA really needs 68 teams in its tourney in the first place (64 would be more than fine with us, if anyone’s asking).
In this season of regular unpredictability and in particular ranked teams falling on a regular basis, though, teams trying to play their way into the NCAAs have been trending a different way of late. At least the last couple days, it seems like almost all of them that need a win, get a win, sometimes even in road environments.
Syracuse went into Miami (Fla.) and won 62-55, a result that shows again no matter how thin Jim Boeheim’s team is or how poorly it shoots, the Orange aren’t going away down the stretch. The Cuse zone can strike at any time, and it limited the Hurricanes to 33.9% shooting. (By the way: Miami is now just 7-7 in ACC play…Jim Larranaga’s team may not be an NCAA lock yet, either)
Texas became the latest team to take advantage of Oklahoma’s struggles, winning in Norman 77-66. Even more than Syracuse, the Longhorns are a really ugly team to watch offensively, at times really, really ugly. On this day, though, Texas shot 54.5% (huh?) while the once-humming machine that was the Sooners earlier this season shot just 30.8%. Oof. Big win for Texas, but much like Miami, Oklahoma is another team in danger of slipping into danger territory, unthinkable as much as seven days ago when OU was a 4 seed in the NCAA’s bracket dress rehearsal.
Late in the night, Marquette also nabbed a road win, taking down Creighton 90-86 in Omaha. The Golden Eagles have been heavily weighted towards their top three players and needed help for them in the worst way. They got it from Sacar Anim, who scored a career-high 26, picking up the slack big-time when Markus Howard left in the first half with an injury and did not return. Marquette came back from 15 down, giving the team’s NCAA hopes still a pulse, even as there’s much work to do.
Finally, when talking of teams winning on the road, any such discussion should not go without mention of Middle Tennessee State. Yes, the Blue Raiders’ 87-70 win at Louisiana Tech was not a surprise, nor was it going to impress many thinking of MTSU’s NCAA at-large hopes. It was, however, the team’s Division I-leading 12th road win of the season. That’s an accomplishment that deserves to be noted, and it shouldn’t take quadrants or redefined victory groupings for the NCAA selection committee to appreciate it.
Those were just the teams winning on the road. Some knocked off top-25 teams at home, too. That included Baylor, which won its fifth straight by defeating Texas Tech 59-57, taking advantage of the Red Raiders losing star Keenan Evans to a toe injury in the first half. Georgia (73-62 winners over Tennessee) still has slim hopes yet, and Arkansas bolstered its chances with a convincing 94-75 win at home over up/down/up/down again Texas A&M. And don’t count out Kentucky (81-71 victors over Alabama) and LSU (64-63 over Missouri) as two more teams that needed home wins worse than their opponents and got them.
Along with a team like St. Bonaventure getting a huge win over Rhode Island on Friday, it can safely be said: if one is looking to narrow down the teams under consideration for the tourney, this has not been the week for it.
Side Dishes:
- Hoopville head honcho Phil Kasiecki has his Saturday Notes from all of the day’s biggest games.
- Saturday’s top performances featured some gems. Wofford shooter extraordinaire Fletcher Magee went wild with 45 points including 11 three-pointers as the Terriers defeated Tennessee-Chattanooga 74-64.
- Quinnipiac’s Rich Kelly scored 40 but the Bobcats lost at Fairfield 102-98 in double overtime in a game in which Tyler Nelson also scored 32 and became Stags’ all-time leading scorer.
- Andre Spight has been on this list several times this season, and the Northern Colorado star exploded for 40 in the Bears’ 97-80 win over Southern Utah.
- Peyton Aldridge of Davidson scored 38 as his team outlasted Massachusetts 83-78. Big scoring numbers aren’t a huge surprise for the Wildcats, long known for their offense, but Aldridge also pulled down 14 rebounds.
- Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell scored 37 in the Fighting Irish’s 84-67 win over Boston College. That came in a win; Central Arkansas senior Jordan Howard also lit it up for 37 but the Bears lost to Southland leader Nicholls State 87-83.
- Belmont’s Dylan Windler has been one of the best-kept secrets in the country this year, and the skilled, versatile junior was incredible with 36 points and 20 rebounds in the Bruins’ 108-65 blowout of Morehead State.
Today’s Menu: Big Monday? This week, it’s more like Big Sunday.
- The day comes out of the gate strong with a pair of huge games. Ohio State is smarting after being ripped by Penn State, and now the Buckeyes hit the road for rival Michigan on national television (Noon Eastern, CBS).
- At the exact same time, Duke goes to Clemson in a game that could directly impact seeding in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers have some high metrics, if not quite the eye test of the resume to match them, but a win here might change some minds. This one is not on national television…if it weren’t busy with the Olympics, we’d say NBC should jump in for games like this in a second.
- Meetings between Wichita State and Cincinnati in the American this year have been long awaited, and we finally get the first one, at Cincy (4 p.m., ESPN). Can the Shockers match the Bearcats’ defense? This year’s evidence suggests it’s unlikely…but can UC match WSU’s offense? We’ll finally get to see.
- Penn State’s trip to Purdue (8 p.m., Big Ten Network) has only grown in importance since the Nittany Lions finished off a sweep of Ohio State and the Boilermakers have now lost three straight. PSU may not be expected to win this one, but recent results for both suggest it’s possible.
- Those aren’t the only biggies. There’s a serious showdown in the Metro Atlantic as Canisius is at Rider. These two have been in a drag race to the top of the league, with the Golden Griffins (six games) and the Broncs (nine) both on winning streaks. Oh, yes: these two were picked ninth and seventh, respectively, the MAAC’s preseason poll.
- Nebraska gets another of its many moderate tests in the Big Ten, a road game but against Illinois, which after a pair of wins has now lost four straight again. (3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network)
- Houston is at Temple for another key AAC matchup (4 p.m., CBSSN). The Cougars are coming off the big win over Cincinnati but now take on a young Owls team that has picked up its pace of late and would be firmly in the NCAA at-large picture with another big win like this.
- Loyola (Ill.) has a tricky game at Evansville. The Purple Aces are more potent than their 6-9 MVC record would indicate.
- The night wraps up with ancient Bay Area rivals battling again with Stanford at California (8 p.m., ESPNU).
Have a terrific Sunday.
